"Duckling?"

Yunling vaguely felt that this meant swimming, but in this ancient time, could women really swim in the river shirtless like men? If they weren't in a village, they would probably be gossiped about even showing their arms.

"It's just swimming in the water. If you like, you can ask your aunt to take you."

"Can you swim?"

"Yes, it was your grandma who taught you that."

"Grandma can swim too? What about Mother? What about Sister?"

Zhang laughed and said, "Your sister and I wouldn't have thought of that. Before you were born, something rather disgraceful happened in this village. A young woman from a family at the end of the village somehow fell into the water and was rescued by a fool."

"The fool's family came directly to his door, saying that the young lady's reputation was ruined and she would never be able to get married. In the end, they only gave her a few copper coins and took her home. The young lady originally had a lover, but they were forced to separate because of this incident."

"After the young lady married him, she cried every day until she went blind. Finally, upon hearing the news of her husband's death, she jumped into a well and died."

"Back then, this incident was the talk of the village. Families with daughters dared not leave their homes. Fortunately, the head of the Xia family was kind and cleaned up the pond and gave it to the village girls to use for learning to swim. Tall shade trees were planted around the pond."

"According to the mothers-in-law's thinking, even if they unfortunately fall into the water, they can save their lives first. If they encounter men who harass them, they can escape quickly. When it comes to fighting in the water, sometimes it is about skill. That's why Chun-jie and Xia-jie can both swim."

Yunling couldn't help but give them a thumbs up. It was truly remarkable that they had such ideas in such an environment.

Is she going to learn to swim?

That's for sure; she wants to experience everything she hasn't experienced in the apocalypse.

Yunling is starting to look forward to summer.

On New Year's Eve, people still stayed up all night to welcome the new year. Yunling's family still set off the loudest firecrackers, attracting the other children to their doorstep. Meanwhile, the four precious children from the eldest son's family simply stood at their own doorway, watching.

Their hearts were itching to join in the firecracker fun, but their mother told them that none of the third branch of the family were good people, and if they played with them, they would eventually be arrested like the fifth and sixth children.

When they lose their father and mother, and have their arms and legs broken, lying on the roadside begging for food, they will suffer. They are easily frightened, and just hearing this made them cry, saying that they would never play with Yunling and the others again.

The relationship between the two families was tense, so they naturally wouldn't go to each other's homes to ask for red paper. The third family didn't lose anything, but the eldest family did. Before the New Year, they had offended a rich man in the city and were being chased by debt collectors. The villagers didn't expect their children to earn a penny from them, so when the four precious little ones came to bring good news, they only brought melon seeds and nuts.

When Lian and the others saw that there were even more melon seeds and nuts than last year, and then remembered that they had not yet repaid the money they had borrowed from their mother's family, they were so ashamed that they didn't know where to begin. How could they dare to run back to their mother's family?

She only hoped that after the New Year, the strong men in her family could find good jobs in the city, pay off their debts, find Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu, and then return to her parents' home in glory.

Zhang, not needing to be too glamorous, also returned to her parents' home.

The bride's family was very welcoming. As soon as they returned, they crowded around the dinner table. The men drank and made merry, while the women chatted about everyday things. When the topic turned to Yun Chu learning to read, everyone's faces showed surprise, though they also had their own calculations.

Learning to read and write is a huge expense, so it was extremely honorable for a poor family to produce a scholar or a graduate, and people would talk about it for three days and three nights.

They had always known that Yun Shenghua worked as an accountant in the city, but besides him, the only other person in the family who could earn some extra money was his mother, who occasionally helped with childbirth. Everyone else was hungry. Could it be that Yun Shenghua had found a good way in the city?

"How amazing is Chu'er? She can write in less than a year. You and your cousin are close, why don't you teach her too? It would be good if you could learn together."

The aunt was thinking that Yun Chu was quite pretty, and now that she was starting to learn to read, how much knowledge would she have when she grew up? Yun Shenghua worked in the city and must have a wide network of connections; he would surely be able to find Yun Chu a good family to marry into in the future.

If that's the case, why not help her daughter out? Who knows, she might find a suitable husband in the city, and the two of them could go to the city to enjoy a better life.

"I never expected that Sister Chu would have such abilities. Unlike me, my head gets swollen as soon as I see those words. It seems that Third Sister and Brother Hua are the most capable."

The second aunt thought differently from the eldest aunt. She believed that Yun Chu was able to learn to read because she had good parents and a good family. Rather than relying on Yun Chu, they preferred to place their hopes on Zhang Shi and Yun Shenghua.

If they could form a marriage alliance, it would strengthen their ties, and Yun Shenghua would naturally do his best to help them with anything in the future.

"That's true. Third Sister and Hua-ge are really capable. They've raised Chu-jie so well. She's beautiful and gentle. If she were dressed in fine clothes, she would definitely be a rich young lady."

"I think so too. I'm afraid that when Chu-jie is twelve or thirteen years old, the people who come to propose marriage will line up from one end of the village to the other."

They kept praising her without giving anyone a chance to interrupt. Later, when they got tired of praising her, they asked Yun Chu how long she had been studying, what books she had read, and how many characters she knew. If they had writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones at home, they would have asked Yun Chu to give a performance.

Yunling felt bored and couldn't see her older cousin, so she thought of going up the mountain by herself. She had been longing to go up that mountain for a long time, but unfortunately she could only come once a year. She had to seize the opportunity.

But when Zhang saw her start to leave, she misunderstood, thinking that everyone was praising Yun Chu'er and ignoring her, and that she would feel wronged and want to escape, so she called out to stop her.

But calling her only made things worse. As soon as she was called, everyone's eyes were on her. Her second aunt was the first to react and asked, "Hey, has Ling'er been reading and learning to read with us?"

Yun Chu wanted to say that Yun Ling could not only write and read, but also collect medicinal herbs and grow mushrooms, and would raise bees after the New Year, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Yunling's claim that she received guidance from an immortal was a secret. If she were to reveal it, others would be jealous and plot against her, so she would rather die than tell anyone.

Yun Chu held back her words, her already blushing face turning even redder.

Zhang placed her hand on the back of Yun Chu's hand, indicating that Yun Chu should relax. At the same time, she realized her mistake. Yun Ling was a special child and would not be bothered by such a small matter. So she changed her words and said, "You must remember the way back here and don't get lost."

Yunling was delighted and immediately ran out, afraid that if she was a step too slow, she would miss out on the good stuff.

But in other people's eyes, Yunling was illiterate, didn't stay quiet and only played, and didn't have the slightest bit of the demeanor of a young lady.

Yunling is not as good as Yunchu.